Thale Noi is a protected freshwater wetland located in Phatthalung province, Southern Thailand. It is one of Thailand’s most important conservation zones with a highly dynamic ecosystem. It provides important nesting and feeding grounds to many endemic and migratory bird species, and is a zone of high overall biodiversity and primary productivity. Fishing is a year-round activity, with many distinct techniques developed to catch certain species at various times of the year. The area is also rich in agrobiodiversity, with more than 50 known varieties of rice cultivated.
Thale Noi involves a diversified system of inter-related local livelihood strategies, with buffalo pastoralism as the central unifying cultural, socio-economic and ecological element in the whole cultural landscape. For several centuries, buffalo have played an essential role in the entire local way of life surrounding the Thale Noi ecosystem, so creating and maintaining one of Thailand’s most important wetland conservation zones.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, Thailand
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thale_Noi_Non-Hunting_Area
